Young Hustla is a collaborative comics enterprise with an aim to develop entreprenuership in South Africa, a country that suffers from more than a 35% unemployement rate amongst the youth. It highlights the challenges that the youth face today and what it will take to rise above the impoverished circumstances that most young people find themselves in. Young Hustla voices the opinion that just having a dream to aspire to is not enough, you need to work hard at it and there's no easy road, or a quick means to achieve your goal. What Young Hustla as an initiative would like to achieve is to make entrepreneurship education accessible, affordable and attractive (to use their words), in order for young South Africans to contribute to and build a strong economy in the Africa of tomorrow, thereby uplifting themselves. With the release of their digital comic, Young Hustla aims to spread the ideals of entrepeneurship and for the youth to realise that their creativity can be a commodity. See the Young Hustla digital comic here.

Spacegirl, a web comic created by Travis Charest is the epitomy of skill and what great drawing and an understanding of form can achieve in bringing the extraordinary to life. Consisting of two volumes so far, Charest style is reminiscent of some 1930's sci-fi art as found in the pulp magazines in his use of detailed ink sketches combined with darks for dramatic effect. The simplicity of one frame (or panel) constituting one page as experienced through the landscape format of most digital devices makes for an easy read when it comes to a webcomic and truly brings the detail of his technique to the fore. For the full experience of his artistic ability, see SPACEGIRL.

KUTI KUTI, the Finnish located alternative comics publication brings all that is experimental, non-mainstream and interesting to public awareness. Launching issue #41 with a specific focus on Africa at the Helsinki Comics Festival this September, AFRI KUTI is sure to make an impact. KUTI KUTI is a non-profit association of like minded comics artists, consisting of at least 50 members. Their goal is to develop comic art and to give those artists that are not yet regonised some regonition and exposure. A truly exciting publication. You can find a link to their site here.

Comics Journalism has experienced an awakening in recent years. Hosted by the French Institute of South Africa and the Goethe Institute, one of the most talented Comics Journalists, a.k.a Hippolyte, was recently on residency in Cape Town. The residency was centered on the theme of Migration, and Hippolyte used this opportunity to collect life stories of the residents of Cape Town. Bringing Humanity to the harsh reality of city living, Hippolyte's drawings brings to light those personalities that society has a tendency to ignore.

Have a look at his phenomenal drawings here, and see how the landscape you traverse everyday is transformed with a heightened sense of humanity.

Egyptian Artist, Ganzeer, is using comic art to capture his personal, political and historical experiences. He sees art as a means through which society can embolden and express itself to create change. Rooted in Egypt and inspired by his personal experience of the upheavals that occurred in Cairo in 2011, this graphic designer turned activist artist. His debut graphic novel, The solarGrid, tells the tale of a dystopian future, where the world is run by eternal light through a vast grid of solar panels that power the world's factories. Night has cease to exist and due to self-inflicted catastrophe, all earth's water has become poluted, with only the last clean supply controlled by the richest man on the planet. For Ganzeer, the narrative is about the dangers of industrialisation and controlling of central natural resources. This sci-fi tale set in Africa illustrates the adverse impact that humanity has had on the planet, as a person that's concerned about the environment, for Ganzeer, this remains a poignant point.

For a more in depth look at Ganzeer's art, here, is a great article written by David Batty.